Consolidation Properties of Soft Clay Treated With Different Additives Using Surcharge Loading in The Curing Period

DUET Journal
Vol. 2, Issue 2, June 2015
Consolidation Properties of Soft Clay Treated with Different Additives using

Surcharge Loading in the Curing Period
Md. Abu Taiyab, Md. Kamal Hossain, and Md. Mokhlesur Rahman
Department of Civil Engineering, Dhaka University of Engineering & Technology, Gazipur, Bangladesh
E-mail: mataiyab@duet.ac.bd
ABSTRACT
A laboratory investigation was conducted on stabilization of soft plastic silty clay soil of Khulna University area. The
main objective of this work was to investigate the consolidation characteristics of soft soil subjected to surcharge
pressure after treatment with cement, lime and rice husk ash (RHA). A series of one-dimensional consolidation tests
has been conducted on the treated samples. The test results show that application of surcharge pressure remarkably
reduces the compressibility of soft clay treated with cement, lime and RHA.
1. INTRODUCTION
The geotechnical engineers of Bangladesh face the problem
of soft clay frequently as it is widespread in the country [2].
To make a development program for such a soil, it becomes
essential to treat the soil. Otherwise failure of structures due
to excessive settlement will cause a great problem. Some
settlement problems on soft clay deposits have been
reported by few researchers [2, 3].
2. LABORATORY INVESTIGATION
Determination of the consolidation properties is very
important for a clayey soil. ASTM standard test procedures
were followed to determine the consolidation properties.
The method of sample preparation is discussed below. The
laboratory testing programs of the study are shown in
Table-1.
2.1 Base clay and binder
Among many techniques, preloading and vertical drainage

in conjunction with pre-compression method are being used
to increase the bearing capacity of soft clays in Bangladesh
in past [2]. Presently chemical stabilization is becoming
popularity in the development of road network. The
chemical admixture stabilization has been widely used in
all over the world in both shallow and deep mixing method.
In the process of in-situ deep mixing method of ground
improvement, the stabilized soil is subjected to a surcharge
by the self-weight of the overlaying soil mass. The effect of
this surcharge (overburden pressure) on engineering
properties is not well known. Some researchers [1, 3, 9, 10]
conducted experimental investigation on peat and clay.
They reported an increase of unconfined compressive
strength with application of surcharge during curing period.
But the information on the effect of surcharge on
compressibility and strength is not sufficient for making
any decision in design process. This paper highlighted the
beneficial effects of surcharge on cement, lime and RHA
stabilized soft clay. This beneficial effect may be useful in
design procedure to reach economical option of soil
stabilization. Use of RHA will cause an environment
friendly solution of its disposal problem. The present paper
illustrates the laboratory methods of sample preparation,
curing under surcharge loading and testing on stabilized
samples.
Dhaka University of Engineering & Technology, Gazipur
The soft clay used for this work was collected from Khulna,
the south-west part of Bangladesh. This soil was taken from
a depth of 1.8 m below the existing ground level. The
natural moisture content of the base clay was 45% and the
group of the base clay belongs to high plastic silty clay
(CH) on the Unified Soil Classification chart. The collected
soil was air dried at first and pulverized using wooden
hammer for sieving through ASTM standard sieve no. 12.
The test specimens were prepared with a mixing water
content of 45% which was the natural moisture content of
the base clay. Different properties of the base clay are
shown in Table-2. The binders used for stabilization were
Portland composite cement, quick lime and rice husk ash
(RHA). The particle size of the RHA was finer than
0.075mm.
2.2 Samples Preparation and Testing
The additives were mixed with the soil in dry condition up
to homogeneous color. After thorough mixing, required
quantity of water was added to the mix and blended for 5
minutes. The well blended soil-additives-water mixture was
compacted by vibratory compaction for 5 minutes. The
mixed soil paste was then poured into lubricated steel rings.
The rings had an inner diameter of 50mm and height of
20mm for oedometer consolidation test specimens. Then
the samples were placed in surcharge loading device for
DUET Journal
curing under overburden pressure. A standard delay of
60min. after addition of water to the mixture of soil and
additives was maintained before application of the
surcharge. The samples were cured under water at a room
temperature of 2550C. Then the stabilized soil samples
with steel rings were placed in oedometer for onedimensional consolidation tests. The methodology of
sample preparation and curing under surcharge loading is
described in detail by Taiyab et. al. [9].
3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
The main objectives of this study were to find the beneficial
effects of surcharge after treatment of soft clay soil with
cement, lime and RHA. For this purpose one-dimensional
consolidation tests were conducted on a number of treated
samples. The results are discussed below.
3.1 Atterberg limits
The liquid limit and plastic limit of soil mixed with different
percentages of additives are shown in Table-3. It can be
observed that the liquid limit of treated soil is reduced with
increase in additive content. But the plastic limit of the treated
soil is increased with increase in additive content. So, it is
clear that the plasticity of treated soil is lower for higher
additive content. This is common for all types of additives
used in the present study. Reduction of plasticity with increase
in additive content indicates that the clay property of soil
changes to granular property after treatment by cement,
lime and RHA.
3.2 Volumetric compression
The volumetric compression ( vi ) due to surcharge on the
lime-stabilized soil samples with different additive contents is
shown in Fig. 1. It shows that the effect of lime content is
significant up to 3 percent lime, but it has a minor effect on
the result of vi for addition of more lime. It also shows that
vi
reduces with increase in lime content. The volumetric
compression due to curing period overburden pressure of

50kPa for 28 days is found to be 10.2% for untreated samples
and the same was found as 4.2% and 6.4% for 7% cement and
7% lime respectively. It can also be seen that the amount of
volumetric compression for treated samples was very small
when surcharge pressure is 10kPa while for larger surcharge
pressure (i,e., 30kPa and 50kPa), it is significant. This figure
also shows that vi reduces with increase in RHA content.
Amount of compression due to addition of RHA is not
significant. When 5% RHA was added with 3% cement, vi
reduced from 8.1% to 7.2%, and when 5% RHA was added
with 3% lime, vi reduced from 7.1% to 6.2%. Similar
results were also reported by hnberg et al. [1] for stabilized
peat and Fujimoto et al. [3] for stabilized clay.
Table-1: Details of laboratory testing program

Type of Test
Specific Gravity of Solids
(Curing age of 7, 14 and
28 days)
Liquid Limit and Plastic

Limit
Oedometer Consolidation
Test (Curing age of 7, 14,
and 28 days; Surcharge in
curing period of 10, 30 and
50kPa)
Sample Type
Base soil
Soil-cement mixture
Soil-lime mixture
Soil-cement-RHA mixture
Soil-lime-RHA mixture
Base soil
Soil-cement mixture
Soil-lime mixture
Base soil
Soil-cement mixture
Soil-lime mixture
Table-2: Basic properties of base clay

Parameters
Specific Gravity
Liquid Limit
Plastic Limit
Plasticity Index
Shrinkage Limit
Natural Moisture Content
Sand
Silt
Clay
Unified Soil Classification
AASHTO Soil Classification
Value
2.68
54%
20%
34%
14%
45%
1%
65%
34%
CH
A-7-6(19)
Table-3: Atterberg limits of treated soil
Cement
(%)
3
5
7
3
3
-
Additives
Lime
(%)
3
5
7
3
3
RHA
(%)
3
5
3
5
Atterberg Limits
LL
PL
(%)
(%)
52
29
52
35
50
36
48
37
50
30
49
32
48
33
49
36
48
34
46
33
45
34
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Table-4: Reduction of void ratio for application of 800kPa

pressure in the consolidation test (Age = 28 days)
Additives
Cement
Lime
RHA
(%)
3
5
7
3
3
-
(%)
3
5
7
3
3
(%)
3
5
3
5
Curing Age=28 days

No Additive;
Cement=3%;
Cement=5%;
Cement=7%;
Lime=3%;
Lime=5%
Lime=7%;
12
9
Volumetric Compression (%)
Reduction of void ratio during

consolidation test
0kPa
10kPa
30kPa
50kPa
0.927
0.810
0.768
0.726
0.491
0.428
0.428
0.411
0.439
0.347
0.293
0.255
0.355
0.194
0.132
0.070
0.623
0.482
0.352
0.255
0.524
0.457
0.349
0.240
0.471
0.391
0.338
0.206
0.477
0.456
0.420
0.385
0.419
0.385
0.334
0.283
0.435
0.384
0.308
0.231
0.413
0.349
0.254
0.160
6
3
0
Curing Age=28 days
No Additive;
Cement=3%;
Lime=3%;
C=3%+RHA=3%;
C=3%+RHA=5%;
L=3%+RHA=3%;
L=3%+RHA=5%
12
9
10
20
30
40
Curing Pressure, p0 (kPa)
Fig. 2 shows that change in void ratio due to consolidation

pressure get reduced with increase in the surcharge loading
in the curing period. Also, it can be seen that the amount of
swelling in the period of unloading was very small for the
lime stabilized samples. Reduction of swelling may be due
to the higher interlocking and bonding among the soil
particles caused by lime stabilization. Similar relationships
for the cement and RHA stabilized samples are shown in
Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 respectively. From these figures, it is clear
that the amount of void change would be lower for higher
the additive content and also for higher the surcharge
pressure in the period of curing. Similar results were
reported for cement-stabilized Bangkok Clay cured without
any surcharge load in the period of curing [10].
Compression Index
The results of compression index (Cc) versus surcharge
pressure ( p o ) obtained from the consolidation tests on the
28 days under different surcharge pressures are shown in

Fig. 2 and the same relationships for cement and RHA
treated samples are shown in Fig. 3 and 4 respectively. The
reduction in void ratio due to increase in effective stress up
to 800kPa during the consolidation test is shown in Table-3.
From the test results, it can be found that change in void
ratio is the maximum for untreated soft clay. The change in
void ratio due to application of vertical stress of 800kPa in
the consolidation test on untreated sample was found to be
0.927. When the untreated sample was preloaded with
50kPa of surcharge for 28days before the consolidation test,
the change in void ratio due to application of vertical stress
of 800kPa was found to be 0.726. It indicates improvement
of soft soil due to preloading.
50
Fig. 1: Volumetric compression due to surcharge on

treated soil in the period of curing (Age=28 days).
3.3 Consolidation characteristics
To know the consolidation characteristics of soft clay
treated with different additives and cured under various
surcharge pressure, one-dimensional consolidation tests
were conducted on a number of treated and untreated
samples. The results of these tests are discussed in the
following sub-sections.
e log p Relationship
The e log p relationships
obtained from the

consolidation tests on lime stabilized samples cured for
samples treated with lime and RHA and cured for 7 days
and 28 days are shown in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6. From these
figures, it could be noticed that the compression index
reduces with the increase in overburden pressure for all the
samples. This reduction of compression index is the
indication of better compaction due to initial loading. From
the test results, it is found that the compression index of the
samples stabilized with 7% lime and p o = 50kPa is 0.459
and the same for the unstabilized sample is 0.629 at a
curing age of 7 days.
From Fig. 5 and Fig. 6, it can also be observed that the
compression index decreased with increase in additive
content. Reduction of compression index was the least for
samples prepared with 3% lime plus 5% RHA. This
reduction of compression might be due to reduction of free
water within the void spaces as the inter-granular spaces are
occupied by the additives. The stiffness of soil samples also
increased due to solidification. So, the amount of
compression became laser for larger the additive contents
and larger the surcharge pressure at the time of curing.
DUET Journal
No Additive
1.4
Lime=3%
1.2
1.0
Curing Age=28 days
p0=0 kPa
0.8
p0=10 kPa
Void Ratio, e
p0=30 kPa
p0=50 kPa
0.6
Lime = 7%
Lime=5%
1.4
1.2
1.0
0.8
0.6
10
100
1000
10
100
1000
Pressure, p (kPa)
Fig. 2:
e log p plots for lime-stabilized soil cured under different surcharge pressures for 28 days.
Cement=3%
No Additive
1.4
1.2
1.0
Curing Age=28 days
p0=0 kPa
0.8
p0=10 kPa
Void Ratio, e
p0=30 kPa
p0=50 kPa
0.6
Cement= 7%
Cement=5%
1.4
1.2
1.0
0.8
0.6
10
100
1000
10
100
1000
Pressure, p (kPa)
Fig. 3:
e log p plots for cement-stabilized soil cured under different surcharge pressures for 28 days.
DUET Journal
C = 3% + R H A = 5%
C =3% +R H A=3%
1.4
1.2
1.0
C uring A ge=28 days
p 0 = 0 kP a
Void Ratio, e
0.8
p 0 = 10 kP a
p 0 = 30 kP a
p 0 = 50 kP a
0.6
L= 3% + R H A = 5%
L= 3% + R H A = 3%
1.4
1.2
1.0
0.8
0.6
10
100
1000
10
100
1000
P res s ure, p (k P a )
e log p plots for RHA-stabilized soil cured under different surcharge pressures for 28 days.
Fig. 4:
1.2
Curing Age=7 days
Lime=0%+RHA=0%;
Lime=5%+RHA=0%;
Lime=3%+RHA=3%;
0.9
Lime=3%+RHA=0%
Lime=7%+RHA=0%
Lime=3%+RHA=5%
Compression Index, Cc
1.2
0.6
0.3
0.0
10
20
30
40
Curing Period Surcharge, p0 (kPa)
50
60
Fig. 5: Effect of curing period surcharge on the

compression index of lime and lime-RHA stabilized
soil (Curing Age = 7 days).
The effect of overburden pressure during the process of
curing on the compression index for cement and cementRHA treated samples are presented in Fig. 7 and Fig. 8.
From these figures it is clear that the compression index
decreases with increase in surcharge pressure applied in the
period of curing. This may be due to increase in bond
strength between adjacent particles in the presence of
compression developed for applied overburden pressure
during the process of curing. The compression of applied
overburden pressure in the curing period also resulted
smaller inter particle space for which void ratio is also
smaller in higher overburden pressure when compared to
the same for samples cured under smaller overburden
pressure.
Curing Age=28 days

Lime=0%+RHA=0%;
Lime=5%+RHA=0%;
Lime=3%+RHA=3%;
0.9
Lime=3%+RHA=0%
Lime=7%+RHA=0%
Lime=3%+RHA=5%
0.6
0.3
0.0
10
20
30
40
50
60

compression index of lime and lime-RHA stabilized
Co-efficient of Consolidation
The effect of overburden pressures ( p o ) on the coefficient
of consolidation ( cv ) of lime and lime-RHA treated
samples are presented in Fig. 9 and 10. It can be seen from
these figures that the value of cv increased by significant
amount with addition of lime. The values of
cv further
increased with addition of RHA with 3% lime. Also it can

be observed that the effect of surcharge on cv is no
significant for curing age of 7 days but it is significant for a
curing period of 28 days. The increase of cv value with
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increase in lime content indicates the consolidation of soil

take place very quickly due to reduction of compressibility
by hardening of the lime-stabilized soil mass. Also, it can
be noticed that the cv value of soil-lime samples loaded by
50
50kPa surcharge increases up to 2.7 times of that for lime

treated samples without any surcharge.
30
The co-efficient of consolidation increases with increase in

additive content. It indicates that the permeability of treated
soil increases with increase in percentage of additive. The
reaction between soil-additive-water changes the cohesive
soil to granular soil for which the permeability of soil
increases after treatment. Fig. 11 and 12 present the effect
of surcharge on the co-efficient of consolidation of cement
and cement-RHA stabilized soil. These figures indicate that
the co-efficient of consolidation increases with increase in
curing period surcharge. Increase in additives also increases
the value of cv Thus it can be said that presence of
cv (m /year)
10
20
30
40
50
60
Fig. 9: Effect of curing period surcharge on the co-efficient

of consolidation of lime and lime-RHA stabilized
50
Curing Age=28 days
Lime=0%+RHA=0%;
Lime=5%+RHA=0%;
Lime=3%+RHA=3%;
40
cv (m /year)
0.9
20
1.2
Lime=3%+RHA=0%
Lime=7%+RHA=0%
Lime=3%+RHA=5%
30
Cement=3%+RHA=0%
Cement=7%+RHA=0%
Cement=3%+RHA=5%
Lime=3%+RHA=0%
Lime=7%+RHA=0%
Lime=3%+RHA=5%
10
overburden pressure during the curing period acts as a

catalyst for better bonding due to action cementing agent.
Curing Age=7 days

Cement=0%+RHA=0%;
Cement=5%+RHA=0%;
Cement=3%+RHA=3%;
Curing Age=7 days

Lime=0%+RHA=0%;
Lime=5%+RHA=0%;
Lime=3%+RHA=3%;
40
20
10
0.6
0
10
0.3
0.0
10
20
30
40
50
60
20
30
40
50
60

of consolidation of lime and lime-RHA stabilized
50

compression index of cement and cement-RHA
stabilized soil (Curing Age = 7 days).
0.9
cv (m /year)
1.2
Cement=3%+RHA=0%
Cement=7%+RHA=0%
Cement=3%+RHA=5%
Cement=3%+RHA=0%
Cement=7%+RHA=0%
Cement=3%+RHA=5%
30
Curing Age=28 days

Cement=0%+RHA=0%;
Cement=5%+RHA=0%;
Cement=3%+RHA=3%;
Curing Age=7 days

Cement=0%+RHA=0%;
Cement=5%+RHA=0%;
Cement=3%+RHA=3%;
40
20
10
0.6
0
0.3
0.0
10
20
30
40
50
60
10
20
30
40
50
60

of consolidation of cement and cement -RHA
stabilized soil (Curing Age =7 days).

compression index of cement and cement-RHA
DUET Journal

REFERENCES
50
Curing Age=28 days
Cement=0%+RHA=0%;
Cement=5%+RHA=0%;
Cement=3%+RHA=3%;
Cement=3%+RHA=0%
Cement=7%+RHA=0%
Cement=3%+RHA=5%
[1] hnberg, H., Bengtsson, P. E. and Holm G. (2001),

Effect of Initial Loading on the Strength of Stabilized
Peat, Ground Improvement Journal, Thomas Telford
Ltd., London, pp. 35-40.
30
cv (m /year)
40
20
10
10
20
30
40
50
60

of consolidation of cement and cement -RHA
[2] Ansary, M. A. and Doulah, I. U. (1993), Ground

Improvement-State of Art Report and Application
Prospect in Bangladesh, Proceedings of First
Bangladesh-Japan Joint Geotechnical Seminar on
Ground Improvement, pp. 1-25.
[3] Fujimoto, T., Suzuki, M., Yamamoto, T. and
Okabayashi, S. (2002), Strength Property of CementStabilized Soil Cured under Isotropic Confining
Pressure in Triaxial Compression Test, Research
Report, Department of Engineering, Yamaguchi
University, Vol. 53 No.1, pp. 67-73.
4. CONCLUSIONS
On the basis of test results on treated and untreated Khulna
University clay, following conclusions may be drawn:
(i) The liquid limit and plasticity index of the stabilized
samples decreases, and the plastic limit of the
stabilized samples increases with increase in the
content of cement, lime and RHA.
(ii) With the increase in surcharge load for cement, lime
and RHA treated soft clay, the co-efficient of
consolidation increased up to 2.9 times and
compression index reduced up to 0.3 times for the
ranges of additives content and surcharge pressure used
in the present study.
(iii) While compared between the results of the samples
cured with and without surcharge, it was observed that
the surcharge on the samples greatly improved the
consolidation characteristics of the treated soil.
(iv) Application of surcharge was found to be more
effective to improve the engineering properties of
stabilized soft clay in case of lime-RHA when
compared to the performance of other additives for
stabilization of soft clay. So, surcharge may be used in
the curing period for improvement of the
compressibility of soft soil when the soil is treated by
lime plus RHA.
The present study was carried out on soft clay of a selected
site. The surcharge loading applied was within 10 to 50kPa.
Further investigations are needed for soft clay of other
types and for different surcharge and/or curing conditions.
[4] Ingles, O. G. and Metcalf, J.B. (1972), "Soil

Stabilization-Principles and Practice", Butterworths,
Pty. Limited, Australia.
[5] Kabir, M. H., Alam, M. J., Hamid, A. M., and
Akhtaruzzaman, A. K. M. (2000), Foundation on Soft
Soils for Khulna Medical college Building in
Bangladesh, Proc. of the Int. Conf. on Geotechnical
Engineering, Melbourne, Australia.
[6] Mollah, M. A. (1993), Geotechnical Conditions of the
Deltaic Alluvial Plains of Bangladesh and Associated
Problems, Engineering Geology, 36, pp. 125-140.
[7] Razzaque, M. A. and Alamgir, M. (1999), Long-term
Settlement of a Building in a Peat Deposits of
Bangladesh, Proc. Civil and Environmental Conf., New
Frontiers & Challenges, Bangkok, Thailand, Vol. 2
(Part-I):
Geotechnical
&
Geo-environmental
engineering, pp. 85-94.
[8] Siddique, A., Saifullah, A. M. M. and Ansary, M. A.
(2002), Characteristics Features of Soft Ground
Engineering in Bangladesh Coastal Geotechnical
Engineering in Practice, Nakase and Tsuchida (eds),
Swets and Zeithinger, Lisse, ISBN 9058091511, pp.
231-248.
[9] Taiyab, M. A., Hossain, M. K. and Nuruzzaman, M.
(2012), Effect of Overburden Pressure in curing
Process of Cement Stabilized Soft Clay, DUET
Journal, Vol. 1, Issue 3, pp. 41-46.
[10] Uddin, M. K. (1995), "Strength and Deformation
Characteristics of Cement-Treated Bangkok Clay", Ph.
D. Thesis, Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok,
Thailand.

Consolidation Properties of Soft Clay Treated With Different Additives Using Surcharge Loading in The Curing Period

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Vol. 2, Issue 2, June 2015